After a lengthy period of development, RM/RMIR v2.06 is now officially released.. The supported platforms are 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, but there is also experimental support for Raspberry Pi for remotes other than the XSight series. See this thread for more information on Raspberry Pi support.

The major change in v2.06 is the addition of a third program, RM Protocol Builder (RMPB) in the application suite to supplement the existing programs RMIR and RM. RMPB is intended as a replacement for the Excel spreadsheet Protocol Builder (PB) that is used for building and editing protocols for the processors used in remotes up to JP1.3 (which includes the XSight Touch/Color and Nevo remotes). Just as RM will open .txt files produced by the Excel Keymap Master (KM) spreadsheet, so RMPB will open those produced by PB as well as its own dedicated file type .rmpb. Documentation on the use of RMPB is available on the Help menus of all three programs through the menu item "Using RMPB".

This version supports all currently known types of UEI remotes, including XSight and Simpleset remotes. XSight support includes the very similar Nevo remotes and the rather different Monster Revolution 200. UEI still supports the Simpleset remotes via the Simpleset.com website, but it has recently closed down the EZ-RC.com website that provided support for the XSight remotes. RM/RMIR v2.06 provides complete replacement support for these remotes, including the ability to upgrade the firmware to the last version that UEI issued. XSight users new to RMIR, especially ones who have been directed here from the legacy page at EZ-RC.com, should read the Wiki article Getting started with XSight and Nevo for further information.

No special action is needed to perform a firmware upgrade on an XSight remote. Just do a download in the usual way. If a firmware upgrade is available it will be offered. You may install it or not, at your choice, and if you choose not to install it, you are given the opportunity not to be offered the upgrade again in future.

The XSight and Simpleset remotes are supported by RMIR directly via their USB interface, without the need for any cable other than the USB lead supplied with the remotes. Other remotes are supported through their JP1 6-pin connector with JP1.x interface cables that use an FTDI chip. These cables are also available with a Prolific chip instead of the FTDI one, but many remotes will not work with these cables. More information on this is given below. It is strongly advised that you use a cable with a genuine FTDI chip - there are also cables with counterfeit FTDI chips on the market and these too will often not work.

This first release build of RM/RMIR v2.06 is available only as a full installation package but subsequent builds will be issued both as a full package containing everything required and as an update package that contains only those files changed since this initial release. To upgrade from v2.05 without losing your settings, delete everything in your installation folder other than the RemoteMaster.properties file that contains your settings. Then unzip the new installation package into that folder and you are done. The setup scripts Setup.vbs (for Windows) and Setup.sh (for Linux) now create a shortcut for RMPB as well as those for RMIR and RM, and in the case of Setup.vbs also a file association to open .rmpb files with RMPB. You are therefore advised to re-run the appropriate script but any shortcuts copied elsewhere, such as to the Windows desktop, will still work without needing to be recreated. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your v2.05 installation and port your settings to v2.06, follow the full installation instructions below and then copy the RemoteMaster.properties file from your v2.05 installation to this new one.

The RMIR menu item "Help > Check for updates" checks for new builds as well as new versions. If a new build or version is available then this menu item displays a message containing a hyperlink that will take you straight to the available downloads for the update. To upgrade to a new build, just unzip the upgrade package into the installation folder for any earlier build of the same version, overwriting any files of the same name. Upgrade packages are cumulative, so it is not necessary to install each upgrade in turn.

To install the full package afresh, for any OS first unzip it to a new folder that is not read-only. For a Windows OS this means, in particular, that it should not be unzipped into a subfolder of the Program Files folder. After unzipping the package, do the appropriate one of the following:

If your OS is Windows then run Setup.vbs by double-clicking or otherwise. This will create three shortcuts, one each for RMIR and RMPB and the third (named Remote Master) for RM. They will be created in your installation folder, but they are also copied to Start > All Programs > Remote Master if you are running a Windows version that has a Start menu. You may copy them to your desktop, or any other location, as you wish. Setup.vbs also creates file associations to open .rmir files in RMIR, .rmdu files in RM and .rmpb files in RMPB.

If your OS is Linux then run Setup.sh from Terminal as a shell script. If the current directory in Terminal is the RemoteMaster installation directory then the command "sh Setup.sh" will run the script. It creates three .desktop shortcuts, one each for RMIR and RMPB and the third (named RemoteMaster) for RM. They will be created in your installation folder, but they are also copied to your $HOME/.local/share/applications folder to ensure that they appear on your Dash. Setup.sh will also add you to the dialout group of users, if you are not already in it. If you need to be added, then it will ask you for your sudo password as this step needs to be run with root privileges. This step is needed to enable RMIR to access USB serial ports without RMIR itself being run as root.

The distribution also contains a text file linux_xsight.rules. If you have an XSight or Nevo remote, you may need to copy this to the directory "/etc/udev/rules.d/". It may be re-named if desired, provided the extension .rules is kept. This file provides a user-friendly name for the XSight as a USB device. Some users have found that Linux systems cannot find the XSight/Nevo remote unless RM/RMIR is run as root, even after running Setup.sh, unless this file is present.

If your OS is Mac OS X then there is as yet no special installation procedure.

With all three OS's, RMIR can be opened without using a shortcut by double-clicking or otherwise running the Java file RemoteMaster.jar. RM can be opened from RMIR with the menu item File > New > Device Upgrade and RMPB with the menu item File > New > Protocol. The instances of RM or RMPB so opened are independent of the RMIR instance from which they are opened, so you can then close RMIR and leave RM or RMPB open if you wish. RM can also be opened from a command line by running RemoteMaster.jar with an argument -rm and RMPB with an argument -pb. Please note that although it is optional to run Setup.vbs in Windows as RMIR, RM and RMPB can always be opened in these ways, in Linux you need either to run Setup.sh or to use some other means to add your user id to the dialup group of users. This need only be done once ever, however, as it is a system setting that is not specific to the RemoteMaster program.

The inclusion of the RDFs, Maps and Images in the package means that the distribution zip file is now about 20MB. The RDFs are in a subfolder of the installation folder named RDF and the Maps and Images in one named Images. The full list of supported remote interfaces is now JP1, JP1.1, JP1.2, JP1.3, JP1.4, JP1.4N, JP2, JP2N, JP2.1, JP3, JP3.1, XSight (all types, mini-USB with S3F80 or HCS08 processor and micro-USB with MAXQ622 processor) and Simpleset (also referred to as JPS and also with MAXQ622 processor). The JP2, JP2N, JP2.1 and JP3 interfaces refer to remotes that use a Maxim processor, the MAXQ610 for JP2, JP2N and JP2.1 and the MAXQ612 for JP3. The difference between JP2 and JP2.1 is that JP2.1 uses a 5-pin in-line connector external to the remote rather than the familiar 6-pin connector in the battery compartment. The latest interface, JP3.1, uses the Texas Instruments CC2541 processor.

JP2.1 remotes need an adapter to convert the 5-pin connector to the standard 6-pin one. Detailed instructions for making such an adapter are given here. The interfaces JP2, JP2N, JP2.1 and JP3 can all be connected with a standard JP1.2/3 interface cable (JP2.1, of course, by means of the adapter) but only one that uses the FTDI chip. Cables with chips of other manufacturers such as Prolific have difficulty communicating with the Maxim processors. This is discussed in some detail in this thread. The JP1.4 and JP1.4N interfaces use the Samsung S3F80 processor and should work correctly with any JP1.2/3 interface cable. The JP3.1 interface, with the Texas Instruments processor, can certainly be connected by JP1.2/3 cables with the FTDI chip. The situation with other chips is not yet known.

When using XSight remotes (and similar ones such as Nevo) with Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, Enhanced Power Management needs to be disabled for the USB port concerned. RMIR v2.06 checks for this and displays a message saying exactly what Windows registry setting needs to be changed if it finds that this setting is still enabled. There is also an item "Enhanced Power Management info" under the RMIR Help menu that provides further information on this.

This RMIR version is available only as a Java file. Support for the separate stand-alone Windows compilation produced from the Java code with Excelsior JET has now finished. This multi-platform Java version requires a Java 1.7 or later runtime environment, either 32-bit or 64-bit. Note that this is a change from v2.03, which required only Java 1.6 or later. The release package includes the following support files:

protocols.ini including support for remotes that use Maxim and Texas Instruments processors.

RMIR.sys that contains the data needed by RMIR to perform firmware upgrades of the XSight remotes.

The RDF File Specification, Version 4.

The RDF File Specification, Version 5 as revision 10 of an Addendum to Version 4.

An update to any of these files will result in a new build being released, so there is no need for separate updating of any of them. Version 4 of the RDF File Specification covers RDF files for remotes with interfaces up to JP1.3. Version 5 is required to support remotes with interfaces from JP1.4 onward. Version 5 is under continuous review as UEI remotes with new features are discovered, with revisions of the Addendum being issued as required.

Please visit the JP1 Community Wiki for information about how to use RMIR. A link to the Tutorial in the Wiki is also included in the Help menu. Please note that as this project is supported solely by volunteers, the Wiki may not be up to date. This version of RM/RMIR contains many new features required to support the newer types of remote. At the time of its release, these are not covered by the help files contained in the Wiki. RM/RMIR itself, however, shows notes and tooltips (the text shown when you hover the mouse pointer over a button or table entry) designed to make its use as self-explanatory as possible.

The download package is available in the following folder. Just click on it to start the download. The corresponding folder for future builds will contain both the full and upgrade packages.

Import "Denon-K" (has a pre-existing VariantName of "2"), change Name to "Denon-K.mjs" and PID to "01 DE". VariantName untouched. Export to Denon-K.mjs.prot.

The resulting .prot file will not import

Thanks for letting me know. I will investigate, but no time to do so till the New Year. This is a brand new application, untested by anyone except me, so (a) teething problems are to be expected and (b) I will be very grateful for any bug reports, suggestions, behaviour that is not as would be expected, and so on.

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Also, just an import, name/PID change, export loses all the code.

You need to select the code and use the "Import to Assembler" button to get the code included in the export. Perhaps you didn't do that?

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A newly exported .prot file doesn't show up as available to import until RMPB is quit/restarted.

Yes, that is the case. The protocols that can be imported are those read by the protocol manager when RMPB (or RMIR or RM) is opened, so a .prot file will not be seen until the application is re-opened. But after saving a .prot file you can continue to edit the protocol and then re-save it with the same name if you so wish._________________Graham

You need to select the code and use the "Import to Assembler" button to get the code included in the export. Perhaps you didn't do that?

No I didn't, but it wasn't intuitive that I should have to. But, reading the notes under "Hex Code," I see that's exactly what I should have done. It just seemed, as a newbie, that a simple import/export with only a name/PID change should work.

Thanks for your work, don't take my reports as criticism in any way - I do have some idea of the amount of work you put into this, which really makes these inexpensive remotes useful (and way better than anything I've been able to do with a Pronto or Harmony).

Mike, I don't take your reports as criticism. I take them as very helpful comments. I found time today to look for the bug you reported, and found it affects the import of any protocol that has a variant name. It is only a trivial typing error but that makes it a sufficiently major bug that I have had also to find the time to post a new build that fixes it. Testing the fix revealed a second bug, in the import of .prot files, which I've also fixed. So please upgrade to build 2. Just download the upgrade file and extract it to the folder containing build 1.

On the need to select the code and use the "Import to Assembler" button, I know it isn't intuitive but it is deliberate, for what I think is a good reason. Many entries in protocols.ini include executors for several processors. Anyone editing the entry to customise it is probably only going to modify the executor for a single processor. If all code was automatically included then the exported .prot file would contain an inconsistent mix of modified and unmodified executors. As it is, you just import the executor you want to modify.

Please continue to post any bugs or other comments. Thank you._________________Graham

I haven't updated my remotes for awhile, and ran into an issue today when I tried updating one due to a new Roku.

I'm running Win10 Fall Creators Update and RM 2.06 build 2. The remote is an RCA RCRP05B, and the interface is a USB adapter I bought from this site a few years ago. It is FTDI based USB/Serial adapter and the driver I assume was just Windows auto-detected. I even have a secondary adapter that plugs into it to let me program an old JP1 remote.

When I tried to update the remote, RM would just close. After some experimenting, I had to manually set Remote/Interface to JP 1.x Serial, and set that to COM3. At first, it didn't seem to remember it on closing the program, but now it is. Still not sure why the auto-detect doesn't work. The computer is a Dell XPS 8910 and has no external serial port I can see, although Device Manager shows a COM1.

I'm wondering is this an issue with my computer, or a bug or something I am missing in RM 2.06?

When I tried to update the remote, RM would just close. After some experimenting, I had to manually set Remote/Interface to JP 1.x Serial, and set that to COM3. At first, it didn't seem to remember it on closing the program, but now it is. Still not sure why the auto-detect doesn't work.

I suspect you may be right and the real cause is our onboard COM port/driver. My machine has the Intel ICH10 chipset and is running the original Microsoft driver for the port. I haven't felt like trying to test my theory or debug it. The port does have an external connector on my motherboard, and worked with the one thing I ever used it for: a UPS monitoring cable (now gone since UPS was replaced). No doubt that software was 32-bit also._________________URC-8820 x2, URC-10820N, Insignia NS-RC05A-11 x2, RCA RCRP05B x2, Potenza ST ADB, OARI06G, URC-7980, OARUSB04G, Nevo C2 x2

I upgraded my Windows 10 from 32 bit to 64 bit but in the process seem to have lost the ability to use my parallel port cable to re-program my older JP1 remote. I see that in the Windows 32 bit "Windows-amd64" folder there is a file called jp1parallel.dll but that no such file exists in the 64 bit implementation and I get the message "No remote found". Is there a way around this please - maybe by utilizing the driver that IR.exe uses to interface with the parallel cable in wWindows 64 bit:-

I have a USB JP1.x cable that also has a little adapter I can plug into it for the old JP1 remotes. I just did a quick test with an old URC-6131, and I was able to download from the remote with 64-bit Win10.

I am guessing that your cable is a USB one? The cable that I use for my old JP1.0 remotes is parallel. That being said, I do have a JP1.x USB cable too so what is this adapter you are using? In the meantime Graham is looking at a way of adding 64 bit capability to RMIR which would be really useful.